


count my cards, watch them fall

by blackkat



Series: Horoscope Drabbles [24]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Gen, Reincarnation, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 06:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17319503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: "Again," the old puppet says.





	count my cards, watch them fall

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Normal Horoscopes on Tumblr:
> 
> Sagittarius: The old rotting puppet that taught you martial arts.

“Again,” the old puppet says.

Sakura closes her eyes, trying to catch her breath. Every muscle aches, every limb wants to fold, but she grits her teeth, gets her arms under her, and pushes up onto her knees. Sasori’s eyes are on her; she can feel them, staring down from the chair where he’s propped, watching like a reclining king. That tone says _I don’t think you’ll make it_ even as he gives the order, sly and derisive. It makes Sakura want to spite him by getting up, but she’s shaking, not sure she can even stand.

“Weren’t you going to save the city?” Sasori mocks, and his laughter scrapes at Sakura's nerve endings like sandpaper.

There's the smell of sawdust in her nose, the age of the shop with its thick layer of dust and decay. The other puppets lie scattered in disrepair, strange shadows slumped around the corners of the training hall, and Sakura stares at the one directly in front of her, its jaw gaping like a macabre grin. Too many eyes, all watching her, and Sasori’s are the worst, but—

He’s right.

Sakura takes a breath, another. She gets her feet under her, forces herself to stagger upright. There's sweat dripping into her eyes, and she _aches_ , but she still stands. She still faces Sasori, tips her chin up, and says, “I _am_.”

Sasuke and Naruto need help. They're being targeted, tracked, terrorized by the plague of monsters invading Konoha. Princes, once, Sasori says, of a kingdom far away and long ago. Helpless, he says, and the slant of his smile is a cruel thing when he does. Princes whose souls were fractured and locked away and hidden, and now they're vulnerable. Sakura isn't going to let them get hurt.

There's a long, long pause as Sasori studies her, and then he laughs. Low, still mocking, but there's something else to it as well. Something brighter, sharper.

“General,” he says, and ringed fingers click against the stone arms of his chair as he pulls himself forward, grinning madly. “My pretty general, _there_ you are. That’s the warrior spirit that beat me an age ago.”

Sakura doesn’t feel like she has the soul of a general from an ancient kingdom. She feels like a little girl who’s grabbing for too much, too fast. Her body aches, her fists are bleeding, and she still can't move like Sasori wants her to, too clumsy to manage it. but she swallows against her dry throat, lifts her fists, and says, “Again.”

Naruto and Sasuke need her, and Sakura isn't going to let them die.

Painted eyes alight, Sasori raises a half-rotted hand, and one of the faceless training dummies pulls itself to its feet, stepping into the ring. “Concentrate, General,” Sasori says, and it’s almost a taunt. “Focus your strength, but don’t forget your speed. It will keep you alive.”

A long blade slides out of the dummy’s arm with a menacing hiss, and Sakura clenches her fists, sets her feet, and lunges.


End file.
